Ile de Re, Interlude, Grainetiere or other

[Jumperooathon]

Looking at a week in Ile de Re in a rented caravan this summer, and I'm under immense pressure as DH hates this sort of thing. I was going to just book interlude but it doesnt get great reviews on tripadvisor; they prefer grainetiere. I do want to be near a beach which is interlude. We have a toddler and a baby.

Any advice please?

It'll be before school holidays but as close to summer as possible, probably last week of June? So it might still be a bit cold. Worried about the pool temperature. Don't want the weather too much warmer as DH hates the heat and the children probably wouldn't be that keen either.

Sorry this isn't the clearest, a baby is trying to get my attention..

Oooh we LOVE isle de Re. The fr. children break up 2 weeks earlier than the english though so you DO need to book early. It gets very crowded in the summer, but it's quite child friendly.I don't know either of the places you refer to. It won't get too hot. (We live inland btw.) La Rochelle is gorgeous too.

Glad to get approval! I just googled and the week we're going for is the week before the french schools stop. I figured that would be the case as it's a lot cheaper. It's a 22 min walk to carrefour which is all DH will care about! Do you know anything about Le Bois Plage? And are the bike paths going to be bike only or shared with cars? Is it worth going to la rochelle for a day trip, are there buses? thank you it's great to have an expert!

I can't comment on Interlude but we stayed at Graintiere last summer. We all really liked it.

It's a small site with a lovely pool, which has an automatic cover that goes over it if it's not quite warm enough for outdoor swimming. (The weather wasn't great when we were there last August) Our caravan was really nice and we could let the kids roam freely. Our caravan was well back but there are some that are quite near the road so I would avoid them.

It was about a 10 min cycle into La Flotte which is lovely. I think it took us about 25 mins to cycle to Le Bois Plage, there's a small section of road and then bike tracks all the way - it's great cycling terrain.

We got the bus over to La Rochelle, which I think took about 45 mins, it's worth a visit.

Oh yes we love La Flotte, there's the best ice cream there !! It sounds ideal to go before the Fr. schools break up.! We only go for day trips so don't cycle but if you cycle you need to be careful because there are some bike lanes at the side of the narrowish roads.

Agree with shesayso about La Rochelle being worth visit, if you're flying there you could go on the same day (if you feel like it !). There's a bus directly from the airport.

Ile de Re is never, ever too hot (we go every year).

Not being on the beach is not a problem as there is easy cycle access to beaches and some of the best ones require a car.

I don't blame you BoboChic I think it has its own mini climate we often begin driving there in rain and mist and arrive in sun (you can see the break in the grey from a distance). LOVELY!!!

We've stayed at Interlude for the last three years ...we love ile de re and love the beach so Interlude is great because it backs onto the Dunes..you're practically on the beach. We book with Sunelia direct and usually go end of June / beginning of July. We like the campsite, not massive but big enough for decent shop with bakery and restaurant. Always people around but not busy at this time of year. Cheap prices and weather warm enough for us...low/ mid 20s.

Small pool by French campsite standards but nicely done and not too busy. Never a problem with temperature with us. There's an indoor bit too. Walk into le Bois plage is either along beach or through path in wood or road or beach.....easy and not too far. We like the village...it's got a daily great food market with wonderful fish stalls and it's got a small carrefoure and a good patisserie. As well as cafes and bars. And spade and bucket shops. We hire bikes on campsite and go all over the island which is fun.

In season ie end of July and August it might be mad but early or late on its fab.

I forgot that we stayed in an amazing B&B in St Martin for a special wedding anniversary. It was dead posh ,shabby chic, right on the harbour. We haven't had a bad meal on the Isle de Re (which is not generally true anywhere else). The restaurant just 2 doors down was great.

Île de Ré is all about shabby chic and fantastic fresh food - in addition to the beach and cycling. It's so relaxing...

Thank you everyone for helpful advice, I've booked it. Stories of good food are encouraging (for DH's happiness). Are buses relatively easy or should I book a taxi? Worried about taxi with baby, toddler and no car seats.

Square peg we might be there the same week then, see you in the pool! How much is campsite bike hire, reviews seemed to be saying it was much cheaper in town but i dont think DH will want the hassle.

Love love Interlude!
We booked bike hire in advance from toutavelo, which has a branch in Le Bois Plage..sometimes the campsite bikes are all booked out.

I"m not sure about buses from the airport to the Island (I know you can get them to La Rochelle though). There will be taxis at the airport but probably best to book and ask for a cab with child seats in it.

Have a lovely time !

We always booked a taxi from airport. If you look on tourist info site they should have names. Or mail interlude. For the bus you have to change in La Rochelle.

Sorry to hijack but I'm following this thread as panning to go to Ile de Re this summer. Has anyone been to or heard anything of the campsite called Les Peupliers? It's on the same side as grainetiere by La Flotte. We are looking for water slides this year which I don't think either of the 2 places have (as lovely as they do look though!).

Sorry I don't know, but somewhere like La Rochelle would be more more likely to have that sort of pool hillbilly It's not far from Ile de Re.

Use eurocamp or sunelia etc search engines to find sites you like the look of then book directly? I saw quite a few good ones with slides on there. Looking forward to that stage :)

Jump...we just might! Re bike hire yes it is a bit dearer than in town but it was much less hassle. I can't honestly remember the price difference ..like other places it's cheaper the longer you hire...but we're quite tight so it wasn't hugely more expensive! Again can't remember the bike company but they have a reciprocal arrangement with bike shops in every village to fix a puncture if you get one....we did and got a repair at the other side of island.

Hope you love it as much as we do.

Hillbilly we stayed here a few years ago, it was lovely, but no waterslide. Here are a couple of reviews.

Hi All,
I'm looking to stay on Il De Re this summer and am looking at Les Peupliers and La Grainetiere, I love the idea of walking as well as cycling which is why Les Peupliers looks more ideal I think, but it doesn't look as nice a site as La Grainetiere - has anyone stayed at Les Peupliers?

Thank you!

We stayed at La Phare last summer, two beautiful beaches and the caravans looked really nice but it's not great for general camping. It is the quieter end of the island though which was good but quite a haul to get out there